Short Stories: Celluloid Rings of Bob Dodd

Here at Etsy, we believe that the story behind an object is often just as fascinating as the object itself. Short Stories is our series dedicated to telling the tales behind extraordinary pieces found or created by Etsy sellers.

It all started in 2003, when I bought an old celluloid ring from the 1930s or ’40s for $150 at a flea market in New York. I wore it every day.

In 2005, when I was being treated for breast cancer, my dear friend Kelly came to take care of me after one of my surgeries, and she fell in love with the ring. At the end of her visit, I gave the ring to her in thanks. Of course, I cried because I loved the ring so much!

Now here’s a lesson in the benefits of being generous of heart: soon after, Kelly did some research on celluloid rings and got in touch with the son of a prolific celluloid ring creator, Bob Dodd. (An important note: Bob did not create my ring.) We received an invitation to visit Bob at his home in Robinson, Illinois. Kelly and I soon visited and fell in love; when we arrived that first day, Bob had 700 rings to show us!

Bob in his youth, circa the 1930s.

Bob said that when he started as a sailor in 1937, making rings from celluloid was a crafty thing to do, but few people made more than one or two because the process was so time consuming and labor intensive. Each of these intricate rings was made by hand — without the use of molds or melting — by cutting up raw materials such as old celluloid toothbrushes, hand mirrors, vanity trays, combs, piano keys, guitar picks, umbrella handles, pocket knife handles, accordion pieces. (Bob said he once even used a piece from the windshield of a helicopter or small plane.) These pieces are then filed, pieced together, and filed again. This process can take a master craftsman a day or more to complete.

When Bob first began making his rings, he and his brother would sell them to their fellow sailors, and they would often incorporate photos of a sailor’s girlfriend or Marilyn Monroe. The rings were popular in his time (but on a much smaller scale, since they didn’t have the Internet), although most of what was out there were machine-made rings where one could mail in a photo of a loved one and have it placed on the top of a smooth, black ring. Ultimately, Bob felt proud that his rings made their way across the world with his fellow sailors. He continued to make rings after his military service, but mostly just sold or gave them to people in his small town in Illinois.

A little backstory: celluloid is a semi-synthetic plastic that predates Bakelite and began being produced in 1870 to replace ivory. It’s worth noting that celluloid mostly died out in the 1950s, when fully synthetic plastics became the norm. Once we met Bob, Kelly and I loved tracking down materials for him. I found a company in the Midwest that had thousands of old celluloid toothbrushes. I bought all of them for Bob, which made his eyes light up; they had become nearly impossible to find.

Bob with his supply of celluloid.

Over the course of three years, I watched Bob construct rings many times, and (thankfully) he taught Kelly and me to make them ourselves the year before he passed away. I documented our lessons from Bob and referred to them when Kelly and I made our first few rings.

Bob's workshop.

Bob worked at his craft nearly every day from 1937 until his death. Although he mostly made these beautiful rings, he occasionally used celluloid to make other things like slingshots, picture frames, belt buckles, and key chains. He also made jewelry out of cut coins. Bob passed away in November 2008, at the age of 92, from smoke inhalation in a fire that broke out in his workshop at home.

Constance and Bob.

During my time with Bob, I purchased about 300 of his rings (crazy, right?). About 100 of those are my personal collection that I’ll always keep for myself. I’ve given away several dozen and sold several dozen more over the years. I’m selling the others now (those not in my personal collection) in order to buy materials for my attempt to follow in Bob’s footsteps, albeit on a much smaller scale. I recently leased an art studio and have started making rings again.

A portion of Constance's rings, created by Bob Dodd.

Although I’ve seen examples of celluloid rings not made by Bob Dodd (like the one I found at that flea market in New York), they’re difficult to find. After much research, my belief is that Bob is the most prolific of these folk artists. He left behind a legacy of incredible folk art, and though he’s dearly missed, his passion lives on in those of us who appreciate and wear his work.

5 Featured Comments

Wow I have never seen these rings before they are so beautiful, very cool story, just goes to show that in this new era our elders still have many lessons to teach us and sharing our knowledge with others elevates the spirit...

What a great story! I began making jewelry out of celluloid scraps given to me by knife makers. Although my pieces are different looking, I love working with it.
Now I will always think of Bob when I am working it.

What a lovely story! I have adored rings like this since I discovered my first at age 18. I am so excited to be able to own one of Bob's rings, now -- what a wonderful and creative legacy he left, and thank you for sharing it with us, Constance. All the best wishes with your rings, I'll look forward to them!

This is such a beautiful and touching story. I love that Bob found his own personal creative outlet and was able to run with it. It's wonderful that you two became friends so that he could pass on his precious knowledge to you. I am looking forward to seeing how you interpret and expand on this for your own aesthetic!

Such colourful rings and such a touching story I'm so glad he passed on his skills to you. It makes you wonder how many techniques have been invented and lost with the coming and going of talented crafty people. His rings look like a precursor to artists like Adam Paxon & Peter Chang (both work in Scotland and make the most amazing sculptural bangles). I will look forward to having a browse in your shop now!

Wow I have never seen these rings before they are so beautiful, very cool story, just goes to show that in this new era our elders still have many lessons to teach us and sharing our knowledge with others elevates the spirit...

To be so taken by an object and the work of one artist that it transformed your life Constance is an incredible thing. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story about the unusual and breathtaking work of Bob Dodd.

I love my Bob Dodd ring that was gifted to me a few years back. This is more information than I've been able to ever find on him. Thanks so much for sharing your collection. Maybe I'll win the lottery & buy a few more pieces.

I loved this article! Thank you so much for sharing such a touching and inspiriational glimpse of a 'one of a kind artist'. Personally, I also love that he was from Illinois, a state of great people :) To me, inlay work is some of the most complex (and annoying) jewelry to make. Lots of patience required there. Thanks again!

Wonderful story! I just did a bunch of research on celluloid the other day...fascinating stuff. It is also worth noting that the material is Extremely Flammable which is another reason why it is no longer being used. That won't stop me from wearing awesome celluloid jewelery though.

What a great story! I began making jewelry out of celluloid scraps given to me by knife makers. Although my pieces are different looking, I love working with it.
Now I will always think of Bob when I am working it.

Such a bittersweet story. So glad that you found Bob and became his friend, saved his life's work from obscurity and learned his craft to carry it forward. I'm sure you were a great joy in his life as he was in yours. Good luck in your endeavors and know that you are blessed.

Such an amazing story! I have never seen celluloid rings before, but now I have, I would love to own one. And I will most definitely think of Bob when I see them! How lovely that you are able to continue in his craft...

This is an incredible story. Truly, it made me teary. To those that say that fate and destiny never play a role in our lives, I say please read this story. Your diagnosis and treatment must have been devastating to you. Often, when a door closes, a window opens. Giving that ring, that meant so much to you, to your friend as a gift for helping you in your time of need, opened the largest of windows. It not only led you to cultivate a new career and passion for yourself, but it gave Bob Dodd the joy of teaching his craft and passion to you. He must have been so proud of the work that you were doing together. It must have given him immense pleasure to know that his work, and this art that is slowly slipping away, would live on through you. Wonderful story.

What a heart warming story. Sometimes we don't know why things happen but I am convinced that everything happens for a reason. Bob was a true artist. What beautiful work. I especially love the photo of the two of you together ... so sweet. So glad that you learned from the best.

Great story.Bobs' art will live on through Constance and be introduced to new generations.There are two generations in this household who have fallen in love with these rings and will be buying some! Thankyou so much.

What a lovely story! I have adored rings like this since I discovered my first at age 18. I am so excited to be able to own one of Bob's rings, now -- what a wonderful and creative legacy he left, and thank you for sharing it with us, Constance. All the best wishes with your rings, I'll look forward to them!

Wow! This is an incredible story and brought tears to my eyes. What beautiful rings! And the collection you have of these is wonderful! I am sure he was touched by your visit and admiration for his work. To have been taught by him on how to create these rings must have been a dream come true. Thanks so much for sharing this touching story! I would have never known of this incredibly talented artist otherwise.

Fantastic story, impossible to see these rings (for the first time today for me) and not want one, each one looks like it was made from pure love. So glad you and Bob met, so special for both of you. xx

Just beautiful. I am lucky enough to possess a celluloid brooch ( The Diver) made by French woman Lea Stien who used off cuts from her husband whom I believe was one of the first manufactures. When this was purchased for me this amazing woman was still manufacturing her brooches at age 84. I have been advised ti keep my brooch in a black bag as the celluloid colours can fade if kept in the light.

This is such a beautiful and touching story. I love that Bob found his own personal creative outlet and was able to run with it. It's wonderful that you two became friends so that he could pass on his precious knowledge to you. I am looking forward to seeing how you interpret and expand on this for your own aesthetic!

Such colourful rings and such a touching story I'm so glad he passed on his skills to you. It makes you wonder how many techniques have been invented and lost with the coming and going of talented crafty people. His rings look like a precursor to artists like Adam Paxon & Peter Chang (both work in Scotland and make the most amazing sculptural bangles). I will look forward to having a browse in your shop now!

This is definitely one of my favorite Etsy stories ever. How wonderful that he was able to share his talents and passion with you! The rings are beautiful & I'm so glad the art of crafting them isn't lost to the world!!

A truly lovely story, as well as an introduction to an art form I had no idea existed. I agree with PoppyPorter—it does make you think about the little-known craft and art forms that may have disappeared simply because there was no one to pass them along to. It's wonderful, Constance, that you and Kelly are taking up where Bob left off. Thanks so much for this post.

Thank you for sharing with us! I love celluloid but have never seen it like this before. Such beautiful jewelry, and Bob was quite handsome, wasn't he? Your shop is beautiful too, though it'd be a lot easier to browse if you had shop sections for each ring size, or if you list the ring size in the title.

I got on this bandwagon late and only because someone favorited one of the rings. But Kelly's story about Bob Dodd and the rings that will live on from his hand has brought me to tears. Such a wonderful folk artist and craftsman, it really made me stand at attention. He was gift, he had a gift, and he gave us gifts.

Thank all of you for your comments about my Father's rings.
His rings are on display at the National Plastic Museum now located at
Syracuse University.
We would go looking for antique celluloid pieces each time i went to his home. He was killed two weeks after his 91st birthday.

What a loving tribute to my Dad's legacy. He loved making his rings
and gave away thousands during his lifetime. The whole family was
on a mission to find the celluloid for him. I shipped him some rasp
files (the post office thanks me) because he couldn't find the
right ones at one point! On his 90th birthday I gave him my whole
collection of antique celluloid mirrors. I miss you every day Pop.

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@etsy: When Therese Lyons first attempted polymer clay art, it was love at first roll. Her newfound passion led her to create @enaandalbert, a jewelry label filled with colorful, textured complements. Learn more about her story on the Etsy Blog. Link in bio.